The Ole Miss Rebels held their much-anticipated spring game Saturday, giving fans their first glimpse of the new offensive and defensive schemes that were installed this offseason.

Obviously, the Rebels didn’t do anything fancy in terms of opening up the playbook and kept things rather generic, but it looked like a dramatically different product from what we saw at the end of 2018.

Gone is the simple, backyard-style offense of Phil Longo (go long, I’ll chuck it deep). In is a tempo and horizontal offense that relies heavily on timing and execution. Gone is the, well, there really wasn’t an actual scheme on defense last year, so the fact that they now have an established coordinator with proven success is in itself heartwarming.

There’s still plenty of room for improvement, and it’s obvious that they’re far from a finished product, but there were a lot of things to like from the Rebels on Saturday.

Here are 3 things I liked in the Grove Bowl.

3. Fundamentals on defense vastly improved

I don’t think I need to elaborate much on how bad the defense was last year. It was downright horrific, and should probably be illegal in all 50 states. Obviously, a severe lack of depth and being forced to play numerous true freshmen were huge reasons for the dismal play overall, but arguably the biggest reason was poor coaching. They weren’t in the right place, couldn’t make pre- or post-snap reads, couldn’t tackle, took poor angles and were undisciplined. In short, they had awful fundamentals.

The defense we saw in the Grove Bowl looked like a vastly superior product. Sure, it’s nice having 8 starters return, but it was evident they were finally receiving proper coaching. Schematically, they didn’t show much and were vanilla (which was expected), but finally guys were getting run fits. Finally, they making proper reads. Finally, they were taking good angles to the ball and wrapping up to tackle. I’m not saying this will be a top 10 defense this fall, but I can absolutely guarantee they won’t be a national embarrassment again.

2. Depth has emerged at tailback

Depth at tailback, or lack thereof, was a serious problem last year. Sure, Scottie Phillips was a beast the first 9 games, rushing for 923 yards and 12 touchdowns, but when he went down early against Texas A&M, the rushing attack fell stagnant, and they averaged just 2.67 YPC over the final 3 games, losing each game. Developing depth behind Phillips was obviously a major priority this offseason, and it appears that’s been accomplished.

Snoop Conner, an early enrollee freshman from the 2019 signing class, looked both powerful and decisive, rattling off several impressive runs. He looks like a guy who certainly won’t shy away from contact. D’Vaughn Pennamon, who missed all of 2018 recovering from an injury, looked slimmed down and showed some bounce in his step. Isaiah Woullard looked more confident and showed signs of development. If Jerrion Ealy, the 5-star signee the Rebels snagged on National Signing Day, skips pro baseball and winds up campus next fall, tailback will be the deepest unit on the team.

1. Matt Corral looks like a perfect fit for new offense

Ole Miss has gotten terrific play from their quarterbacks over the past 6 years. From Bo Wallace to Chad Kelly to Shea Patterson to Jordan Ta’amu, there’s more than a handful of SEC teams that would have been thrilled to have the signal callers the Rebels put on the field each year. That trend should continue with Matt Corral this fall, who dazzled in his first public showing in the new offense, a scheme that looks tailor-made for him.

The redshirt freshman from Ventura, Calif., was 17-of-25 in the first half for 192 and a touchdown, and made several plays with his legs as well. It’s obvious that he’s going to be a contributor to the rushing attack, providing yet another weapon that defenses must account for.

Where he really stood out though was with his arm, generating terrific velocity to all three levels but also showing deft touch, as well. He wasn’t without error, however, and displayed some growing pains that are to be expected of a young quarterback running a brand-new offense, but he showed a lot of improvement in terms of going through his progressions and not locking into one receiver. This kid has the makings of a star.